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Parent
Workshops
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"
Literacy has powerful consequences
not
the least is that it changes ones views of oneself and the
world."
. M. Spencer
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Early Literacy -
Books, Writing and Reading |
This practical, hands-on workshop focuses on literature that appeals to beginning and
emerging readers. Titles will be shared and discussed, and ideas shared to support early
literacy strategies. Strategies may include:
- Pocket charting
- Readers theatre
- Mini-books
- Rebus stories
- Journal writing
- Music and art connections
- Recording family stories
Bring scissors, crayons and a large brown envelope, as we will ‘literally’
rearrange words and ideas!
Who Otter come?
Parents working with children in grades K – 3
Parents wanting ideas about new titles available for K-3 readers
Parents concerned about providing balanced teaching strategies focusing on early
literacy development.
Request
this Session
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Readers Theatre* |
Readers Theatre is an exciting and fun way to support and extend reading skills.
Reading in a cooperative, group setting, provides security for emerging readers,
opportunities for good readers to model strong, effective reading styles and for stories
to ‘come to life’. This session will engage participants in activities to
explore readers theatre scripts as a vehicle for affirming, extending and strengthening
early literacy skills. Oral reading techniques will also be shared, to strengthen
expressive and fluent reading skills.
Areas to be explored will be taken from themes such as:
- Seasons
- Holidays (sacred and secular)
- Folk tales and legends
- Literature links
Participants will leave with a sampling of scripts spanning several reading levels,
along with bibliographic information for resources and materials. Longer sessions, if
required, (1/2 day) will provide opportunities for participants to explore the process of
scripting, enabling them to guide their own children in this task which strengthens
comprehension skills, oral reading, and organization – for – writing skills.
*This session can be adapted to focus on more advanced readers, as well as beginning
and emerging readers only. It can also be adapted to focus on performance, oral reading,
and dramatic elements.
Who Otter come?
Parents working with children in grades K – 6
Parents looking for ideas to combine learning activities with multi-age groups
Parents seeking fun ways to motive and encourage love of reading
Request this
Session
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Get Loose with Mother Goose
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Stories written in rhyme provide a predictable, repetitive framework for early readers that
encourages and supports early reading experiences. In addition, rhyme and rhythm provides
a framework for understanding word families, awareness of conventions of spelling,
increase memory retention – and give language a delightful element of humour.
Participants will explore creative ways of using poetry and manipulative materials to
support and encourage writing at an early level. Participants will work with nursery
rhymes, and pocket charts to experience strategies for engaging the child in early
writing. Rhymes will provide the vehicle for
- expressing ideas
- respond to literature
- informing and teaching interesting facts following a research activity.
Who Otter come?
Parents working with children in grades K – 3
Parents looking for ideas to motivate and encourage early writing experiences
Parents interested in innovative and creative approaches to teaching language arts
Request this
Session
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Writing: A
Novel Approach
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Writers learn to write by reading good writers! Based on that premise, participants
will engage in activities which look at literary models found in novels. Several titles
will be explored, focusing on style, organization, characterization, dialogue and other
features which help the written word jump off the page, and stir the imagination of the
reader. Participants will leave with a bibliography of titles, which serve as strong models specific to key areas of writing. Ideas will also be discussed and shared for engaging the
student in writing which responds to concepts and themes found in literature.
Who Otter come?
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Parents working with children in grades 4-7
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Parents who believe that the art of writing is strengthened by engaging the student in
authentic writing experiences, and interacting with quality literary models
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Parents interested in introducing novels as a key feature of the language arts component
of their program
Request this
Session
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Reading Beyond the
Words |
This session will look at titles, which ‘touch the soul’, and ultimately get
children hooked on reading. New titles will also be explored, and discussions will focus
on ways to help children make choices. With so many new books coming out every year, how
can parents make informed decisions? A wide range of titles will be shared, providing
parents with greater awareness of content, themes, and concepts found in children’s
stories, enabling them to make informed choices at the library and bookstores.
Contemporary as well as classic titles will be shared. Participants are encouraged to
bring along favourite titles, for sharing and discussing with the group. Participants will leave with an annotated bibliography of titles suitable for primary /
elementary readers.
Other topics which may be discussed
- Reading together – techniques and strategies for enjoyment vs. instruction
- Extending and enriching the reading experience
- Preparing for reading – Do’s and Don’ts
- Getting the Whole Family Involved – roles and role models
- Shared reading, and recorded book method
*A similar session can be arranged for junior high level readers.
Who Otter come?
Parents working with children at all levels
Parents desiring to instill the love of reading in their children
Parents who believe that reading aloud is a social event
Parents seeking an alternative to television and computer games
Parents who believe that children
who read well, have a better advantage
Request this
Session
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Take Note – Visual Strategies for Learning |
Getting the job done means knowing how to plan ahead, organize, manage, sort the
relevant from the redundant, stay focused. Being innovative and creative are also highly
valued. These are qualities sought after by employers, but it is up to us to help children
find the strategies which will take them successfully into their adult lives.
Unfortunately, we often assume that children will automatically know how to take notes,
find details needed in pages of text so that they can write their own reports or opinion
papers. How do we teach planning and
organizing and categorizing? Are these skills
transferable to other daily tasks? Using a wide range of visual organizers (charts, diagrams, webs), participants will
explore ways to apply basic models to a wide range of learning experiences. This session
will provide participants with an armload of ideas to guide students with
- Writing
(organizing for pre-writing, organizing
for effective writing)
- Planning
(an event, a task, daily routines,
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- Studying
(reading for pertinent information,
planning a study session, how to study)
- Research and report writing
(note taking, reading for information,
ideas, and details problems of plagiarism)
- Problem solving
(critical thinking, conflict, cause and
effect, thinking ahead)
- Analytical Thinking
(assessing character actions in novels,
historic events, personal application)
Who Otter come?
Parents working with children at all grade levels
Parents seeking links to curriculum / content and personal growth and learning
Parents who believe that children who learn to think for themselves, become responsible,
effective, productive adults.
Request this
Session
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U Otter
Read It Educational Resources Ltd.
email:
info@uotter.com
Phone
780-962-9854
Fax 780-962-9882
780-962-9882
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